First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
To: Incoming 8th Grade Students
From: Mrs. Marcia Smith
Students are required to read TWO books during the summer break. Note that there is one
required book, The Hiding Place, and a second book chosen from the list at the end of the
response journal. Students are required to purchase a paper copy of The Hiding Place
and bring it to class on the second day of school.
Goal: Students will practice higher thinking skills by reflecting on what they read.
Message: During the summer, before school begins in August, please read The Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom. The book can be found at book stores like Barnes & Noble, in the book
section at Target, or purchase a paper book online.
Assignment: Print these instructions with the Response Journal below or save it on your
home computer and type in your answers as you go. After reading each chapter, write a
quick response for each chapter. Use the writing prompts below for your response. The
response should be at least four sentences in length but no more than six sentences long.
Write your response on this handout and bring it with you on the first day of school.
The Hiding Place Student Response Journal
Chapter 1
Corrie describes the oddities of her house with affection. It is obvious the Beje is her home, and
despite its age and its tilting floors, she loves it. Pretend your own house is on the market for sale.
The real estate agent has asked you to describe, in writing, what things you love most about the
house. What things about it make it special and make it home?
Chapter 2
Corrie’s father places a high value on education. Although he had to quit school early to go to work
in the watch shop, he was self-taught in such subjects as theology, history, and literature – in five
languages. Do you feel education is as important as Mr. ten Boom did? Do you feel it is more
important for some people than for others? Are there any reforms you feel would benefit our
educational system today?
Chapter 3
Corrie and Karel are interested in each other but things are complicated. How do you feel about the
lack of support from Karel’s family? How have things changed over the years?
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
Chapter 4
Corrie surprises herself by discovering she has a talent for watch repair. Three years after her
mother’s death she becomes, in fact, the first licensed woman watchmaker in Holland. What talent
or talents do you have? What goals or hopes do you have to use those talents in the future?
Chapter 5
At the beginning of this chapter, Corrie is awakened by the sounds of Germany’s invasion of
Holland. Imagine yourself in a similar situation, and suppose that you must get the news of the
invasion to a family member who is out of the country. Write a telegram message that explains
what is happening and warns your family member to stay away. Telegrams charge by the word. So,
your message must be fewer than 15 words long.
Chapter 6
Explain how Peter stuns his family when he plays Holland’s national anthem in church. Pretend
that you were forbidden to say the pledge of allegiance or sing your country’s national anthem.
How would you feel about this?
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
Chapter 7
By the end of this chapter the Boom family have begun taking in “orphans” – the ones refused by
other members of the underground because they are too dangerous. Corrie calls them her family.
What does the word family mean to you?
Chapter 8
When Corrie receives a summons to go to the police office, she prepares for the worst case scenario
by packing a “prison bag.” What did she plan to take? If you were in a similar situation, what would
you pack?
Chapter 9
After his arrest, Mr. ten Boom quotes scripture from memory. He chooses “Thou art my hiding
place and my shield: I hope in Thy word… Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe…” What is your
main “hiding place”? Where do you find comfort in a time of trouble?
Chapter 10
On April 15, 1944 Corrie celebrates her birthday alone in her prison cell by singing a child’s song. If
you were alone on your birthday, how would you mark the occasion?
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
Chapter 11
The Lieutenant tells Corrie that while he appears to be a person of some authority, he, too, is in
prison. Explain what you think that statement means.
Chapter 12
Corrie is grateful to be in Vught, around people again. She refers to the situation as a paradox. Look
up the term paradox and explain the paradoxical nature of this experience.
Paradox:
Explanation:
Chapter 13
Betsie makes Corrie a list of things she is thankful for at Ravensbruck. What are some things you
are thankful for?
Chapter 14
Corrie finally understands exactly why she should be thankful for the fleas, as they are what keep
the guards away at night, making it possible for Corrie to hold a worship service. Can you apply this
lesson to your own life? Is there something you might not be thankful for, but probably should be?
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
Chapter 15 – and Overall
Theme is the message the writer intends for the reader to understand and know. If you
could choose one song that would express the overall theme of this book, which song would you
choose? Select a song and share a portion of the lyrics and explain how they relate to the story of
The Hiding Place.
Book TWO – Choose ONE from the following list:
After you read record what you read by filling in the chart under the list. Bring it to
English class on the second day of school.
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer. When he
discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his uncle’s estate, he finds himself kidnapped
and cast away on a desert isle. Kidnapped deals with true historical events relating to the
Jacobite Rising, and has won the admiration of an adult audience.
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Jethro Creighton, the protagonist, is young and idealistic when the Civil War begins. At
first he thinks the war will be exciting, full of marching soldiers and demonstrative
patriotism. Soon he learns the reality of war as he watches his three brothers, his cousin,
and his teacher go off to fight.
White Fang by Jack London
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
The story takes place in the Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush.
It is a story about a wolf-dog’s journey to domestication. White Fang is a companion to
The Call of the Wild, is London’s best known work about a dog’s ability to survive and
thrive in the wild.
Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott
This is the story of the adventures of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they grow into young
women in mid-nineteenth century New England.
Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
This is a story of a small Mississippi town in the 1930s, and the troubles that plague its
black community. Picking up where its precursor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, leaves
off, Mildred Taylor recounts the trials of this small community through the characters of
the Logan family
Up From Slavery; an Autobiography by Booker T. Washington
The son of a slave, Booker Taliaferro Washington worked his way out the salt furnaces
and coal mines to develop the esteemed Tuskegee Institute. This autobiographical work
demonstrates his forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality in
turn-of-the-century America.
Holes by Louis Sachar
Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didn't commit.
We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations. His bad luck
lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert. The warden has all
the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed. The story weaves interesting tall tales from
local history and Stanley's family. The relationships among the juveniles in the camp are
interesting to follow. Stanley finds a good friend, treasure, and learns to like himself.
The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
The novel is initially set in London in 1900. The principal characters are two preadolescent children, Digory Dirke and Polly Plummer. Digory also appeared as
Professor Kirke from The Lion, theWitch and the Wardrobe, by which time he was a
grown man in his sixties. The pair has adventures after being transported to other
worlds by the sorcerous experiments of Digory's Uncle Andrew.
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
1. Title __________________________________________________________________________
2. Author________________________________________________________________________
3. Genre _________________________________________________________________________
4. Setting
a. Time ___________________________________________________________________
b. Place ___________________________________________________________________
c. Conflict _________________________________________________________________
5.
Main Characters (Include their name and a brief description of what they looked like and
their personality.)
a. ________________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________________________
6.
Main Events
a. Somebody ______________________________________________________________
b. Wants __________________________________________________________________
c. But _____________________________________________________________________
7.
Climax ________________________________________________________________________
First Name: ________________ Last Name: ________________ Grade: ____
8. Resolution (outcome or ending)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________